Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 412 Nowhere to Raise Money
money.

What Gu Ming needs most right now is one thing: money.

One hundred million yen can buy Mantani, one billion yen can buy equipment, and three billion yen can buy everything that Eiji Mantani had in his lifetime.

Gu Ming was not surprised by the price, because later, during the period when the yen depreciated many times, TYO only spent 8000 million yen to acquire Tsuburaya, and that was even with all the copyrights included.

The reasons are well-known: various internal problems within Wangu, infighting within the family, copyright disputes, unclear income, rampant corruption, and overstaffing...

It's fair to say that 8000 million yen was a high price.

TYO revived the brand by appointing Shinichi Ooka as its new president, starting with "Ultraman Ginga." Otherwise, the brand wouldn't even be worth 80 million yen.

But even now, this brand can still be considered a golden brand, it's just that the business is not doing very well.

“Three billion!” Gu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

He doesn't have 3 billion yen. Right now, his entire net worth, including assets and available cash, is only close to 600 million yen.

"Brother Gu." Tanaka stood in front of Gu Ming, opened the folder in his hand, reported to each person one by one, and finally gave a summary.

"This is all the funds we have available right now, but I must warn you, if we invest all of this money in Wangu, the loss of cash flow will have a more severe impact than ever before. And if we take out a mortgage loan from a bank..."

Tanaka slowly shook his head.

A mortgage loan will not exceed the value of the collateral itself.

“I have asked several banks, and the highest loan-to-value ratio is currently 80%, which means they are willing to provide a loan of 480 million. In that case, it would be equivalent to us having 1 billion.”

"A billion!" Gu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

That's already quite a lot. If he only wanted the company and the copyright, that would be enough. But he wants more than that.

"Tanaka, is there any way to get them to give us more?"

“Yes,” Tanaka said. “I have inquired with several banks that are interested in providing loans, and their response is that, in consideration of your efforts to bring glory to Japan, they can provide an additional loan, bringing the total to 1.2 billion yen, which is the limit.”

Gu Ming gestured to the fountain pen in his hand, saying that it was a gift from Kinjo Tetsuo.

"Do you think it's possible for us to use the collateral from this bank to apply for a new loan from another bank, and then..."

“You’d better not do that.” Accountant Matsuzawa Yuko interrupted Gu Ming without hesitation: “Those bankers’ money isn’t so easy to get. I think if you’re really determined to take over Mangoku, one billion yen is enough and will keep some funds running smoothly. There’s no need to keep pushing it on. I don’t want to see you on the bankruptcy liquidation list one day.”

Gu Ming could only shake his head.

Come to think of it, this isn't an era where money is so hot it's almost burning your hands.

After 1986, banks were eager to do everything they could to offer loans to individuals, even though the value of the yen had changed a lot by then. They could still provide loans of over 100 million yen to individuals.

"You don't understand, you don't understand at all."

Gu Ming sighed slightly: "Let me think of another way. You guys take care of this first. I need to find an old friend to talk to."

……

……

Endai.

Although it still looks like the old, dilapidated factory, Endai has now escaped the predicament it faced a few years ago.

In Yamashina Naoji's office, Gu Ming once again saw this smug old man.

The secretary bowed and left after leaving behind a bowl of piping hot tea. The room was filled with the enticing aroma of tea. Gu Ming held the teacup in his hands, knowing that this time things might not be so easy.

"Yes, we need money. That's true. Who doesn't need money? New investments always require funds."

Naoharu Yamashina smiled and said, "Furutani-kun's initial investment has grown a lot, hasn't it? I'm the kind of person who always tries to repay kindness. Although it was only ten million yen back then, it brought in ten or even a hundred times the return. I'm giving Furutani-kun fifty times the return!"

"Five hundred million, how about that?"

Gu Ming slightly raised his head and looked at the spirited Yamashina Naoharu behind the desk.

"So, what is the price?"

“Enyo is preparing for its IPO, and I think we probably don’t need that many shareholders right now.” Yamashina Naoharu paused, then added, “However, I am still very grateful for Furuya-kun’s contributions. Enyo will always have a place for Furuya-kun, and I can decide to reserve a share of the stock for him.”

"That price was really... not small."

Gu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

This is not a good solution.

But at present, there doesn't seem to be a better choice.

Even if he were to transfer the original shareholder status to the bank, he probably wouldn't get any more money. Although Gu Ming had considered transferring the status while agreeing to Yamashina Naoharu's request, he doubted that such a simple game could even be considered a financial game, as the bank would easily investigate.

"And even so, it's only 1.5 billion yuan, oh no, 1.7 billion! That's still not enough, far from enough! If the final result remains unchanged, then I have no need to replace the original shareholders of the company."

After pondering for a long time, Gu Ming finally stood up and said, "I'm sorry, I also need to think about it some more."

"Of course, please."

The moment Gu Ming stepped out of the Endai factory gate, a gust of wind blew, and he was overwhelmed with thoughts.

It seems he had to give up some things.

Some things are wonderful, but unattainable and cannot be forced.

"I'll use my current abilities as collateral, and then use 1 billion yen to acquire Mangoku and all of Mangoku's copyrights! From then on, I'll have accomplished one thing: owning a medium-sized production company! However, this will completely deplete my cash flow, so I need to generate revenue as soon as possible."

Gu Ming pondered the matter, but knew it wouldn't be so easy.

Sending money for the filmed work also takes time.

For example, he hasn't received all the overseas payments for the first part of the "Scroll of Vengeful Spirits" yet.

The process of getting the money back is lengthy and protracted. With films nowadays often having screenings for more than a year, the payback period can easily take two or even three years or more.

From this perspective, Gu Ming knew that Assistant Tanaka and the accountant were right.

Maintaining cash flow is still very important; otherwise, it will be like Lenovo's acquisition of IBM—a snake swallowing a whale, resulting in indigestion.

Gu Ming doesn't understand financial games, but at the moment, it seems there are no other options.

Koizumi was waiting outside the door. Gu Ming got into the car, only to find that Tanaka had been waiting in the passenger seat for a while.

“Furuya-san,” Tanaka said succinctly, “shortly after you arrived in Endai, a client came to the office looking for you and brought a message, saying that he hopes you will come to his place tonight.”

Gu Ming raised his face, his eyes slightly tired: "Who is it?"

Kadokawa Shoten.

(End of this chapter)